Books acquired: “Always a Song,” Ellen Harper

Books read: “Books: A Memoir,” Larry McMurtry; “A Passion for Books,” Harold Rabinowitz and Rob Kaplan, editors; “My Bookstore,” Reginald Rice, editor; “Booked to Die,” John Dunning; “Always a Song,” Ellen Harper

Hot on the heels of my November Reading Log, posted only two weeks ago, here’s December’s. If 2020 proved nothing else, it’s that time is elastic.

November’s RL was delayed due to blog difficulties, you may recall; December’s is on time or a bit early because I also need to put together my annual list with photo of all my 2020 reading. That’ll be up within a day or two. If you have comments to make about your entire year of reading, that’d be a fine place for it.

My December was devoted to books on books. That is, except for a late-arriving book about music, which I wanted to get read and which serves as a contrapuntal harmony to the rest.

“Books” (2008): A chatty account of McMurtry’s introduction to books as a child, his love of books and his side career as a book scout and book seller. Short chapters (some less than a full page), loosely written, repetitive at times (he explains on four occasions that referring to a deceased person as “late” is “Botswanian”). It can read at times like a commercial for his Texas bookstore. But it’s casually engaging and often amusing.

“A Passion for Books” (1999): Some delightful pieces here, especially John Michell’s about history’s famous bibliomaniacs, and the interspersed New Yorker cartoons were a nice break. By the end, though, this was more about collecting and caring for first editions than about having a passion for reading. Not the fault of the book, but it wasn’t what I was hoping for.

“My Bookstore” (2012): 84 writers pen short essays on their favorite indie bookstore, representing about 35 states and stores both nationally famous (Powell’s, The Strand) and obscure except to those who love them. Put together in 2012, this shop-local tome was meant as a bulwark against Amazon and ebooks. Repetitive (read a half-dozen of these essays and you’ve read them all), but enjoyable if you love bookstores. Since this is the Reading Log, I would imagine that’s all of us. (An updated version with a few added stores, and no subtractions, was published in 2017.)

“Booked to Die” (2001): A police detective who’s good with his fists (too good, in fact) and collects Faulkner in first editions quits the force and opens a used bookstore. But he also needs to take care of some unfinished business involving the murder of a book scout. This mystery set in the world of bookmen — the first in a series starring Cliff Janeway — was pressed into my hands by a good bookman, which is only right. I learned a lot about the book trade while being swept up in a compelling story. But then, I like books.

“Always a Song” (2021): A calm, clear-eyed look back at the folk movement from someone on its periphery as a retailer (Claremont’s Folk Music Center), friend, family member and occasional musician, who went from being a red diaper baby to getting an invitation to the White House. Valuable as a female perspective, besides being well-observed, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes hilarious. Note: Book was a gift of the author. Expect a column later in January.

I started one other book, “Great Books” by David Denby. Halfway through the introduction, I decided this was not a book I wanted to read. (I’d owned it about 15 years and had always been intrigued by the premise of the author returning to college for a couple of Western Civ/Great Books courses. Ah, well. I did read his chapter on “Heart of Darkness.”) A few days later, Harper gave me an advance copy of “Always a Song,” which will be published in late January, and as luck would have it, I was free to start it immediately.

The most purely enjoyable book of the month was “Booked to Die,” with “Always a Song” rewarding as well for anyone with an interest in folk music. The others were too hit or miss.

“Song” aside, these were, as is often the case, rather long-lived in my unread books collection. (Will I never run out?) “Bookstore” is from 2012, a gift from my mom; “Booked to Die” is from 2010, a gift from the late Dwain Kaiser; “Books” is from 2008, a gift from reader (in both senses of the term) Jim Strodtbeck (he marked a page with a very funny anecdote regarding “Moby-Dick,” about which I had written recently; and “Passion” is a year or two older, a purchase (imagine that) from Bookfellows in Glendale. So, five books, four of them gifts. There’s more where those came from.

How was your December, readers? Let us know in the comments.

Next month: royalty.